Grand Jagannath temple to come up in London

London (UK): London will soon be known as the ‘Jagannath Dham’ of Europe with the construction of a grand Jagannath Temple in the capital city of the United Kingdom.

The plans for this divine project were unveiled by The Jagannath Temple Trust, UK, a charitable organisation founded by eminent UK based Odias, at the 41st Annual Convention of the Odisha Society of United Kingdom (OSUK).

This year’s OSUK Convention was held on an online digital platform in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, and was attended by nearly a thousand members of the Odia diaspora living in the UK, USA, Europe, India and other parts of the world.

It has been a long-cherished dream of UK based Odias to spread Jagannath Culture in their adopted land, and to establish a dedicated Lord Jagannath temple.

The UK already has temples to the deities of some of the holy Hindu Chaar Dhaams. However the absence of a dedicated temple to Lord Jagannath has been acutely felt by the Odia community in the UK that has an established presence in the UK for well over half a century, with numbers rapidly expanding year-on-year.

This dream of UK Odias will now be realised by The Jagannath Temple Trust, UK which aims to complete construction of a majestic Jagannath Mandir in the Greater London region by 2024.

The Trust is currently finalising an appropriate site in the Greater London region for the temple.

The Founder Trustees of the Jagannath Temple Trust, UK, comprise many eminent Odias– all of whom are long standing residents in the UK, and prominent members of OSUK.

London being one of the most expensive cities in the world, the Trust estimates the cost of constructing the Jagannath Mandir to be 4 million British Pounds.

It aims to raise these funds entirely through generous donations from the UK Odia and Hindu community, Jagannath devotees across the world, corporate entities, philanthropic organisations and support from governmental organisations in the UK and India which was also kickstarted on this occasion.

The Trust envisages that the Jagannath Mandir will become the epic-centre of Jagannath culture in the UK and Europe, and an easily accessible prominent landmark in London that will attract thousands of devotees and tourists from across the world.

The Mandir Complex will also be a hub for the propagation of Hindu philosophy, and the promotion of educational, social, cultural, and philanthropic activities associated with Lord Jagannath and the hallowed land of Odisha.